Kitsune Among The Hoshigaki
by Memories-of-the-Shadows
Summary: A story about a female Gin who was once someone else just as vulpine. Warnings: mentions of shoujo-ai, character death, violence, excessive bribery.


_**Randomness abounds.**_

_**I do not own either of the manga I shamelessly rip off.**_

:::

As long as she could remember, she had resembled a fox, and her hair had always been some shade of silver.

She could also remember alcohol and money being her vices throughout her life in Rukongai—as well as in the snippets from the life that she could remember from her former life in the human world. Snippets of drinking herself into oblivion, of falling in love only to step away for a best friend, of laying on a couch all day gambling on the horses. Of being lonely until the day she died—violently, and disgustingly.

The girl was still lonely. It didn't help that she couldn't remember the name she'd had before, couldn't remember ever being loved. Even in Rukongai, as a mere child, no one had cared for or about her. It seemed that everyone didn't want anything to do with a "fox child", so the girl had raised herself—even named herself Ichimaru Gin. Gin after the drink that had always seemed to be her favourite in the memories and her hair, and one because she was always alone. It didn't occur to her that it was a masculine name, after all, what point would it be to advertise that here was a defenseless girl that no one cared about to any pervert who wanted some company?

Gin walked along, feeling her stomach clench with hunger and knowing that she'd have to slip into the market sometime today, when she came across a girl lying on the ground in front of her. Gin could almost feel the hunger radiate off the red-head, and that could only mean one thing.

"Only people with reiatsu starve, ya know. Maybe ya should get something to eat." Gin didn't really know why she was helping the girl, maybe she just reminded her of herself.

"…What?" Gin rolled her brown-blue eyes, not that the other girl could tell. Gin had a habit of keeping her eyes closed, much like a fox.

"Come on. We'll get ya some food. I need something too." The red-head hesistantly grasped the hand that Gin had put out.

She followed Gin into the market, and watched with blurry eyes as she stole bits of food from all of the vendors—even under the noses of the shinigami students who were the only ones buying it. The girl hadn't been caught even when she took the last of a fruit from a stand under the vendor's watchful gaze. Gin trotted back to the red-head and dragged her away to split the spoils.

As the red-head watched Gin putting pieces of food in front of her, her eyes welled up just the tiniest bit. When the silver-haired girl was about to take a bit out of piece of fruit, the girl blurted out, "My name's Matsumoto Rangiku! Thank you so much!"

Gin smiled just a little wider. "The name's Ichimaru Gin. Nice to meet ya, Rangiku-chan."

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

A few years later saw that both Gin and Rangiku were enrolled in the Shinou Academy, both having decided that it'd simply be easier to get food and continue living by doing so.

Nothing much changed for Gin. She was still shunned, still alone in the world except for Rangiku. No one else cared to notice that they'd given her the wrong uniform; blue instead of red. Gin smiled. Rangiku had certainly gone off on her when she had refused to ask for the red one. The truth was, that she didn't care if everyone thought she was male—it would make it easier to graduate quickly.

Gin had a goal—and that was to graduate as soon as possible—though she'd miss Rangiku. The other female would understand, and Gin had faith that she would graduate without a problem even if she was lazy and narcissistic.

She reached that goal within a year.

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

Rangiku was happy to have finally graduated; it had taken her six more years than Gin and she was fully prepared to blame the girl for that as soon as she showed up with some dried persimmons and alcohol.

Needless to say that she was pissed when Gin didn't show up—nor couldn't for at least a month because eleven shinigami including seven captains had disappeared for reasons that weren't being told to anyone lower than vice-captain.

Which Gin had recently been promoted to.

"That bitch better bring some premium dried persimmons 'cause when I get my hands on her, she'll wish she'd disappeared as well…" Rangiku muttered often under her breath during this time. Needless to say, there were very few people that welcomed her into the 10th division for quite a while.

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

Gin really had no idea why she helped Aizen. It wasn't as if she cared for the man—he certainly didn't care about her—and despite what many people thought, it wasn't as though Gin lacked morals.

A reason besides Rangiku to employ them, yes, but not morals.

She wondered if it had anything to do with Kyouka Suigetsu, but dismissed it. She'd never actually seen Aizen's Shikai; despite what people might think. Gin kept her eyes closed for the most part, it being more than a habit now. Besides, that gave her an unusual glimpse at the real man behind all the illusions.

It wasn't pretty.

They said at the Academy that a zanpakuto was the reflection of the wielder's soul. Gin fully believed that.

Her Shinsou was direct and to the point when she wanted her to be, but Shinsou was also a manipulative, secretive bitch most of the time and she meant that in the best possible way since that was almost identical to herself. Rangiku's Haineko was almost as vain and frustrating as Rangiku herself not that she would want to change her best friend.

Was it any wonder then that Kyouka Suigetsu focused solely on illusions and trickery when it's wielder was so wrapped up in his own masks that he couldn't tell what was real anymore? Gin might have even been taken in by it if she couldn't half-remember seeing through the masks of not only herself but others. As it was though, she could see through Aizen's mask, and she could tell that he'd taken in himself along with almost everyone else.

For someone supposed to be a genius, Aizen really was an idiot. And she'd rather miss Hirako-taichou, the man was far more amusing than Aizen and certainly more than Tousen. That man was blind—literally and figuratively—and absolutely no fun in the least to tease, being self-righteous far past the point of being obnoxious.

Gin picked up a basket of quality hoshigaki. They were expensive, but they would probably be the only way to prevent a black eye courtesy of Rangiku. She started to the front, then stopped and grabbed a bottle of hoshigaki sake as well.

Better to be safe than very, very sorry.

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

The more that Gin found out about Aizen's plans, the more she disliked them. There was the distinct possibility of seeing Rangiku hurt or dead—two things that she would never allow—and besides, Aizen's newest vice-captain was a sweet young girl who reminded her far too much of someone from her previous life. Gin wasn't sure that she could allow someone that innocent to be killed or tortured just because she had the wrong superior.

Speaking of vice-captains, she was on her way to meet her new one. Her former fuku-taichou had been transferred to some other division—she couldn't remember which one. She hadn't liked the man, he wasn't fun enough. Reminded her too much of Tousen.

She stopped outside of the office door, trying to get a feel for her fuku-taichou's reiatsu. Oh. It was Izuru Kira. Well, it seemed that Aizen wasn't going to stop manipulating things to his liking anytime soon. That man…really was rather stupid. He still hadn't picked up on the fact that Gin was female after, what, a century of being his vice? That man…

Gin sighed, hoping that the blond wasn't going to be all tense and formal. Hopefully, if he was, Rangiku would be free for the next few decades because Gin knew she would want someone fun to hang around.

Opening the door, Gin walked in without really seeing what was going on, but the rustle of cloth caught her attention. She caught Kira trying to hide a notebook with writing and doodles all over it.

"Maaah? Why, Kira-kun, are ya trying to hide something from me? Whatcha got there?" Gin asked innocently. The boy blushed crimson.

"N-Nothing! It's nothing, Ichimaru-taichou!" Kira blurted out, before noticing that his hands were empty, and that Gin was flipping through it.

"Don't look like nothing, Kira-kun. Looks like ya're working on a novel. Am I right?"

"I-Ichimaru-taichou!"

Gin's constant grin grew wider. She'd be having fun with this one.

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

Rangiku wanted to punch that bitch's face in. A note? A note, really? She left a note to tell her best friend, occasional lover, and keeper of most of her secrets that she'd miss her birthday!?

Gin had better have a fucking good reason, because not even the best hoshigaki would save her from Rangiku's wrath.

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

The captain of Division 3 was wondering why she had skipped out on Rangiku's birthday—risking her health and sanity—to accompany Aizen and Tousen to Hueco Mundo and Las Noches. She didn't even know why they needed her. Nothing had really happened.

But it had put a few things into perspective for Gin.

Aizen was serious about it all. He really did believe that he could take over Hueco Mundo and probably really did believe that he could become a god. That he could overthrow the King.

That idiot.

Rangiku could get hurt and Momo was too much like that girl she could almost remember for Gin to let her die betrayed like that. Kira had gotten under her skin with every time he called her "Ichimaru-taichou" like she was someone to look up to.

Gin wondered when she'd become so attached to these people, when she'd been so determined in her loneliness when she was young in Rukongai.

It was only when she found herself shopping for a birthday gift in the middle of the night for her Rangiku that she realized that this day was when she'd no longer needed to be lonely.

The red-headed woman had loved the scarf that Gin had picked out, and after she had removed the kitchen knives from Gin's clothes she even let the other woman feed her chocolate and hoshigaki.

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

Gin had went to the sou-taichou, the captain commander, Yamamoto Genryuusai with what she knew. It was the only way that she could keep her Rangiku safe, and to stop this nonsense.

To her surprise, Genryuusai was not. Surprised that is. He had merely sighed, and ordered her to continue to report on Aizen, and to kill him if Aizen was going to leave Seireitei for good.

She had gladly accepted this mission. Aizen may have been stupid, and as blind as Tousen, but she knew that he was paranoid by nature. This way, if Gin had to kill him, he'd be taken by surprise. That was the way she always liked to fight.

Like a fox.

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

She had just stopped the Ryoka from entering Seireitei, but Gin still had a bad feeling about it all. Somehow she knew that Aizen's plan was being put into high gear, and that at the end of it, she would have to kill her former taichou.

Gin could only hope that Rangiku got out of this alive, because there'd be no time to talk to the captain commander now.

Aizen would be watching her every move until the very end, when she would kill him.

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

Everything had gone perfectly, and that hadn't been upset by Yoruichi and Soi Fon "trapping" him just as he was about to get away.

Aizen knew that he was meant to be a god, and nothing would stop him from becoming so.

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

Gin was quite happy to feel Rangiku up against her back, but she was even happier to see that Tousen and Aizen were pinned down.

"Maaah, sorry I can't help ya, Aizen-sama," she drawled, seeing the look on Aizen's face. It would be gone soon.

"It is tim—" he started, but before he could finish, there was a sword in his gut that was slowly working it's way up into his ribcage.

"Sorry, Aizen-sama, but Ran-chan is prettier than ya and Tousen." Aizen could hear something else in that phrase, but he couldn't think of what. How did Gin break out of Kyouka Suigetsu anyway?

"And I know what ya're thinking, and didn't I tell ya? I've never seen yer pretty Shikai. Eyes closed and all that."

The former captain of the fifth division could feel his heart beating against the metal of Shinsou, tearing more each time. He was just about to die when he heard a voice next to his ear.

"I betcha never knew I was a girl, did ya? What was it that ya said to Shinji-taichou? Ya never knew me. And ya were an idiot for not taking yer own advice."

Aizen Sousuke died knowing how blind he'd been.

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

If there was one thing in the world Gin loved, she decided, it was dried persimmons.

Luckily for her, she'd had to buy enough of them for Rangiku—to get the woman to forgive her—to keep both of them happy for months.

:::

_**Just a random little one-shot. I was going to make it longer and with more elements of Love Hina, but I just couldn't do it. Gin has recently become a liked character, and I wanted to see what he might be like female. Then that mixed up with how much he reminds me of Kitsune from Love Hina, and then that led to this.**_


End file.
